[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 148 (Thursday, September 29, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6279-S6280]
SENATE RESOLUTION 607--RECOGNIZING THE NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE
AGENCY ON ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY
Mr. BLUNT (for himself, Mr. Warner, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Burr, and
Mrs. Feinstein) submitted the following resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on Armed Services:
S. Res. 607
Whereas, in an effort to improve the imagery intelligence,
mapping, and geodesy capabilities of the United States, the
National Imagery and Mapping Agency (in this preamble
referred to as ``NIMA''), the predecessor of the National
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (in this preamble referred to
as the ``NGA''), was founded on October 1, 1996, as a result
of President William Jefferson Clinton signing into law the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997
(Public Law 104-201; 110 Stat. 2422), which authorized the
establishment of NIMA;
Whereas the NGA derives from legacy agencies, including the
Defense Mapping Agency, the National Photographic
Interpretation Center, the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance
Office, the Central Imagery Office, and the Defense
Dissemination Program Office, that played vital roles in the
defense of the United States in conflicts dating back to
World War II and contributed to the discipline of geospatial
intelligence (in this preamble referred to as ``GEOINT'')
through imagery and mapping production;
Whereas the NGA has, throughout its 20-year history,
provided GEOINT support to United States policy makers and
military commanders in both war and peacetime during
significant national security and natural disaster events,
including--
(1) the operations in the Balkans;
(2) the response to Hurricane Katrina;
(3) the operation that resulted in the killing of former al
Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden;
(4) operations against state-sponsored terrorist
organizations;
(5) the humanitarian assistance responses to earthquakes in
Haiti and Japan; and
(6) the continued critical mission support to members of
the Armed Forces in the Middle East;
Whereas, with military and civilian employees serving at
the NGA headquarters in Springfield, Virginia, the NGA West
Campus in St. Louis, Missouri, and additional locations
throughout the United States, and with personnel deployed
worldwide in more than 200 locations in 17 countries, the NGA
produces timely mapping, charting, geodesy, and intelligence
products to warfighters, first responders, civil authorities,
policy makers, and the maritime and aviation communities;
Whereas the NGA motto describes the many missions that were
combined 20 years ago upon the creation of the NGA, ``Know
the Earth, show the way, and understand the world'';
Whereas the NGA is the primary organization responsible for
developing, maintaining, and enhancing the World Geodetic
System 84 reference frame, the foundation for all of the
Positioning, Navigation, and Timing systems of the Department
of Defense, including the
[[Page S6280]]
Global Positioning System (commonly known as ``GPS'');
Whereas the Maritime Safety Office of the NGA, which traces
its lineage to 1869, collects, analyzes, and writes the
Notices to Mariners that keep government, civilian, and
international mariners informed about vital safety and
navigational issues;
Whereas the NGA also supports commercial vessels worldwide
with navigational products and warning messages;
Whereas, in addition to updating worldwide digital nautical
charts that ensure safety of navigation to a broad base of
users, the NGA has expanded to provide safety of navigation
information to the aeronautical community;
Whereas, in recent years, the NGA has increased its--
(1) worldwide, industry-leading aeronautical safety library
to more than 10,000 flight procedures made available to the
Department of Defense; and
(2) vertical obstructions database from 4,000,000 features
to more than 24,000,000 features;
Whereas the NGA has converted from paper maps to
downloadable digital maps, reducing the amount of gear that
pilots need to carry while ensuring that those pilots always
have the latest information;
Whereas the NGA continues to be a constant source of
innovation, aiding the efforts of the Department of Defense
in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations by using
new--
(1) intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance sensors
and technologies; and
(2) analytic methods, including full-motion video,
hyperspectral imagery, overhead persistent infrared, light
detection and ranging, and activity-based intelligence;
Whereas the NGA continues to support warfighters and
intelligence operators with dedicated efforts in global
counterterrorism, counterproliferation, mission readiness,
safety of navigation, and future weapons development;
Whereas, since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,
the men and women of the NGA have worked diligently to deter,
detect, and prevent acts of terrorism by providing GEOINT
support to United States and coalition forces in support of
the Global War on Terror, including Operation Enduring
Freedom in Afghanistan, Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of
Africa, Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq, and Operation
Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria;
Whereas the NGA is commendably pursuing new methods of
intelligence collection and analysis to inform, complement,
and add to the NGA's support of warfighter requirements by--
(1) embracing innovative cost-sharing and risk-sharing
constructs with the commercial electro-optical satellite
industry; and
(2) looking to emerging commercial technology providers,
including small satellite companies, that hold the promise of
rapid technological innovation and potentially significant
future cost savings to the taxpayers of the United States;
and
Whereas the NGA has been awarded 3 Joint Meritorious Unit
Awards reflecting the distinctive accomplishments of the
personnel assigned to the NGA: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) congratulates the men and women of the National
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on the occasion of the 20th
anniversary of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency;
(2) honors the professional men and women, past and
present, of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for
their selfless service and dedication to the United States;
and
(3) expresses gratitude to all the men and women of the
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for their past and
continued efforts to provide timely, relevant, and accurate
geospatial intelligence support to deliver overwhelming
advantages to warfighters, defense planners, and national
security policymakers in the defense and security of the
United States.
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